All I do is run

Lets get right to it, shall we?

Even though I’m mostly following Runner’s World’s FIRST training program for my marathon, I decided to switch out their speed workouts with alternating workouts of the following:

1. 1 Mile repeats – Basically I’m just going to run a series of mile repeats, increasing by 1 set every workout (every two weeks) at whatever pace I can maintain for the duration of the run, with 3 minutes of rest in between. I’ll go into more detail on this when I do it next week but I’ll be starting with 4 x 1 mile @ 8:15 or so.

2. Yasso’s 800s – The speed you do these are supposed to represent a fairly accurate finishing time for a marathon. For instance, I want a 4:00 marathon time (well, ideally), so by the end of training I have to be able to run 800m in 4 minutes ten times (10 x 800m @ 8:00 min/mile). Pretty simple, right?

Today I did the Yasso’s.

Warm up : 0.2 miles, 3:00 minutes

0.8 miles @ 6.2

800m @ 7.5

2 min @ 6.3

800m @ 7.6

2 min @ 6.3

800m @ 7.7

2 min @ 6.2

800m @ 7.7

2 min @ 6.2

800m @ 7.6

2 min @ 6.1

800m @ 7.8 – 8.0

Cool down : 0.3 miles, 4 minutes

Distance: 6 miles (9.8k)

Time: 54:00

Pace: 9:00 min/mile

I realized during my run today that my mantras are sometimes a bit questionable. Today the mantra I kept repeating in my head was “Pain is love, baby”. I’m not sure if this represents some sort of Freudian sadist/masochist dilemma between my ego and id, or if I’m just a lame, corny person. This is just one of the reason why, despite all appearances, I would make a terrible role model for young girls.

I don’t think it needs to be said but I wasn’t it any actual pain during the run. It was quite pleasant, actually.

Song of the Run: Kanye West – Stronger

Yeah, this song is just kick ass for working out. Not much more to say about that.

I’m off to a wine tasting tonight. Pretty much one of my favourite things on earth.

Tales from the Dreadmill

It took a feat of herculean will power to get me out of the house to do my long run today. The reason being mostly that I had to do it at the gym . . . on the treadmill. 25k (15.5 miles) on a treadmill while not quite being my idea of hell, is at least equal to purgatory. But you gotta do what you gotta do.

I haven’t really talked about it yet but I’ve been dealing with some pain from my right IT band and have been going to physio for it. I’ll talk about my treatment in more detail at another point but for right now I’m trying to run indoors, especially if there’s a lot of snow like there has been. I found that the snow and ice was so unstable to run on that I think it was really hurting my form and putting undue stress on my joints.

So that means I’m stuck on the treadmill for now.

If I were to compile a list of the pros of doing a long run on the treadmill it would look approximately like this:

Pros

- no snow

. . . and that’s about it.

I have nothing against treadmills for shorter runs and I love them for doing speed training but I never love a treadmill run and usually long runs are labours of love as much as anything else for me. I covet the outdoors and the challenges it brings as well as the beauty of the environment and the treadmill has none of that. Plus, I miss my runner’s high. I’ve never gotten a runner’s high on a treadmill and I doubt I ever will.

Anyway, enough whinging from me. The run actually wasn’t all that bad. I split it up into 4 different sessions so that I wasn’t using any one treadmill for too long and took about a 5min break in between each set to use the bathroom, fill my water, stretch and complain to my parents (who were also there working out) about how much long treadmill runs suck.

Stats:

Distance: 25km (15.5 miles)

Time: 2:27:00

Pace: 9:28 min/mile

I’m definitely happy with the pace. I was only supposed to maintain a 9:45 min/mile pace according to my training plan but I find the treadmill a bit easier than outside because of the lack of hills (I do always run on at least a 1.0 incline, though) so I tried to keep my pace a little higher. It helped with the boredom too.

Anyway, no real knee pain, other than the typical general soreness I get and my legs only got really sore on the last 5km or so.

Song of the Run: MGMT – Weekend Wars

This is a new band to me and I’ve really been enjoying their stuff. This song is pretty mellow which made it good for a long run and it just has a nice groovy beat that kept me from getting bored.

In other news (not really) – I officially have the ugliest feet on the planet. If two marathon runners feet got together and had babies my feet would be what those baby feet had nightmares about.

I’ve always had ugly callused feet, which never really bothers me because I like them that way. I live 80% of my life barefoot so I need a solid foundation But now they’re just nasty. I’m pretty sure I’m about to lose one of my toenails and more will likely follow and I have about 6 separate blisters on the arches of my feet. Good times.

Alright, I’m done icing my knees and I need to go make a quick dinner and get off to work. Have a good night all you night sleepers

You can never buy too much chocolate

Today I decided it was time to get out of my winter slump and finally do a decent outdoor run. It helped that the weather was gorgeous finally (and by that I mean it was 0C). So first thing this morning I woke up, threw together a small bowl of banana cereal (just a banana, chocolate hemp protein powder, flax, dried cranberries & almond milk) and headed out the door.

Man it felt good to run outside. No amount of mileage on a treadmill or track ever makes me feel like I’ve actually been running. I enjoy it on some level but as soon as I get back outside on the road/trail/path it’s a whole different world. Unfortunately, the huge amounts of snow make it really difficult to maintain a decent pace. I try not to be bothered by this because it’s not really that important as long as I’m doing what I can, but once I get into marathon training next month I’m worried that it’ll hurt my ability to train adequately.

Distance: 14.5k (9 miles)

Time: 1:31:00

Pace: 10:00 min/mile

Not a terrible pace by any means, but I was aiming for a 9 min/mile pace so it feels crappy anyway.

Song Of The Run : I Gotta Feeling – Black Eyed Peas

This song always makes me want to dance and as I’ve mentioned before I love to dance while I run, so this one always gets my spirits up. It doesn’t hurt that the song started just a minute after this lovely old man smiled at me as I ran past and lifted his adorable, puffy yellow gloved hand to give me a thumbs up. I couldn’t stop smiling after that. It just shows – no matter what you think about your performance, there’s always someone out there who thinks that what you’re doing is pretty great.

I stopped in to my local health food store after my run to pick up some groceries. I wasn’t planning to get much but there were so many fun items on sale that I ended up with a full bag (funny how that always happens ). I don’t usually buy very much packaged/processed foods so I thought I’d share some of today’s purchases, just for fun.

This is my favourite brand of tofu. It’s made somewhat locally (Nelson, BC is about a 7 hour drive from Calgary), it’s organic and made with minimal ingredients. I try to stay away from too much soy, but I love tofu and this is the freshest, most authentic stuff you can get. Even the herbs used for flavouring are local and organically grown. I haven’t tried the curry flavour before; I usually buy the ‘hot’ flavour and it’s my favourite by far.

This is the only brand of raw milk cheese I’ve found but that’s okay because it’s really good and it’s Canadian as well. I’ve had both the old cheddar and now the parmesan. The texture of the cheese is a bit harder than traditional, pasteurized cheese but the flavour is better than most commercial cheeses.

Delicious, delicious Manna Bread. I like to pack chunks of this into my lunchbox. It’s so dense and flavourful that I just eat it straight, either cold or heated slightly. I also got some Ezekiel english muffins. Now that I’ve been converted to sprouted grain bread products I just can’t imagine going back to the regular stuff. For some purposes I can see wanting a softer, more refined bread but I’m a big fan of breads that are full of grains and have a more dense texture. For a softer grain bread I eat Healthy Way’s Flax Multigrain bread, which is probably my favourite brand of sliced bread.

I don’t usually like canned soups and the ingredient list on these isn’t ideal but they were on sale so I decided to pick up a couple for those times when I just want a quick bowl of soup on a cold day. I’ll let you know how I like them.

PB&J Larabars! I was so excited to see that my store finally got this flavour in (still no Tropical Fruit Tart, though). They were on sale 3/$5 too.

I’m really starting to have a stock-pile of protein powder but when I saw this today I couldn’t resist. I haven’t been able to find brown rice protein powder until now and it has a higher protein count than the hemp protein I usually use. I like the nutritional quality of hemp protein better so I’ll probably still use that primarily but this will be a nice change. Plus, Cafe Caramel flavour sounds yummy.

Now onto the onslaught of chocolate. Haha.

I’m making truffles for a function at Dan’s work on Friday so I had to pick up a bunch of dark chocolate.

They only had one bar of Green & Blacks baking chocolate left so I had to supplement it with some Cocoa Camino. I’m sure it won’t be a problem

They also had the regular Green & Blacks bars on sale so I picked up a bunch. These may or may not get slipped into some Christmas stockings. I don’t trust myself around this much chocolate.

I also picked up this gourmet chocolate bar from Wild Sweets. They had a good selection of different chocolates so I picked this one to do a taste test and see if it was worth the cost. I had a piece after dinner and good God in Heaven, this stuff is so good. The quality of the chocolate is amazing – dark and rich with a nice smoky finish – and the fillings are perfectly balanced. I really love praline so this was perfect for me. It’s definitely a special occasion chocolate, but lucky for me I consider a lot of things to be special occasions .

As much as I love when companies are Canadian, knowing that I can order these chocolates online at any time is a terrible temptation. I want pretty much everything on their website. The wine confits alone are enough to make me want to cry with sheer pleasure.

I also finally got my hands on some raw cacao powder. I bought this mainly because I needed some to coat the truffles but I’ve been wanting to splurge on some of this for months, so it was really just a good excuse

And thus ends my cornucopia of chocolate shopping trip. I made sure to let the cashier at the store know that I was baking with and giving away most of this chocolate because it looked pretty funny stacking it all on the counter.

When I got home I made myself a real dinner, once again involving my new obsession with cornmeal.

Roasted Vegetables & Black Beans on Cheesy Grits

This was actually a really easy meal to put together. I’d soaked the black beans overnight so I threw them on the stove to cook while I showered and took pictures of my shopping trip. Then I cooked up the grits using this basic recipe:

2 cups water

2/3 cup almond milk

1/3 cup cornmeal

salt & pepper to taste

1 tbsp earth balance or butter

1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese (I used my raw cheese mentioned above)

1/4 cup grated parmesan

Heat 1 cup of the water and the milk until boiling. Add the cornmeal and stir quickly so it doesn’t clump. Reduce the heat and cook until thickened, adding the remaining cup of water 1/4 cup at a time until it reaches the proper consistency, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from the heat, add salt & pepper, earth balance and stir in the grated cheese until smooth.

Makes two servings.

While the grits were cooking I chopped up some broccoli, brussels sprouts, zucchini & shallot and roasted them in the oven at 425 for about 20 minutes. They were topped with olive oil, salt, paprika and cayenne pepper.

Then I put everything together in a bowl and topped it all off with a little nutritional yeast and sriracha.

This is pretty much the definition of comfort food to me. I love roasted veggies and the grits really added a nice textural element, different from the rice that I often have instead. And sriracha pretty much makes any meal better, IMO.

That’s it for me. I’m making truffles tomorrow so hopefully I can get some good pics to share of how it goes.

And I’m back

Sorry for the long hiatus. Once I got sick I got a little off in my schedule. I’m a very habitual person and not exercising and eating oddly for almost a week threw me off my game. I’m only just finally getting back to normal.

My food photography has been pretty sporadic and I don’t actually have any pictures from yesterday or today so I’m just going to share some of the ones I’ve taken this month and you can just pretend that’s what I ate today.

Let’s start with a yummy plate of french toast-ed cinnamon raisin ezekiel english muffin. That’s quite the mouthful. I topped it with sliced pear, maple syrup and some goat feta. I love using tangy cheeses with sweet breakfast dishes, it’s such a good combo.

For lunch, lets say I had this:

I remember this meal as if it were yesterday, so close enough. A massaged kale salad with chipotle avocado, tomatoes and hemp seeds. Paired with a foodgasmic sandwich on whole wheat baguette – hummus, sliced radish, carrot, cucumber, avocado and pesto. So, so good.

And, what about dinner?

A stuffed acorn squash, perhaps. Filled with a vegan stuffing of whole wheat bread, apple, onion and cranberries. Stuffing is one of my favourite foods but I usually don’t think to make it for just a random dinner. I’m so glad that I did in this case because it was really good. I also had some spicy baked tofu with BBQ sauce for dipping.

Now back to reality -

Yesterday was a fun gym day. I was supposed to go to my weekly strength/cardio class but my favourite instructor wasn’t there and I don’t usually bother going if she isn’t teaching. Nothing against the other instructors, I just don’t usually find them as challenging and I end up regretting that I’m not off doing my own thing. So, I was left with an unplanned gym trip on my hands, my very favourite kind.

If I don’t have a set plan at the gym I just have fun with it and do whatever my heart desires. Yesterday that involved the following:

2 min on the rower (was supposed to be 5min but, being the klutz that I am, I jammed the hand grip against my knees and it hurt too much to continue).

1 min limping around in pain, deciding what to do next.

10 min on the step machine (I did the ‘aerobic intervals’ on level 10) while reading Impact’s feature on triathlon training.

5 min run around the track, gradually increasing speed to a sprint and then back down again. (~ 1km)

2 x 10 @ 12.5lb – bicep curl to shoulder press

2 x 10 @ 12.5lb – tricep extention

1 x 20 @ 12.5lb – lunges

5 min run around the track, gradually increasing speed to a sprint and then back down again. (~ 1km)

13 min on the bike (2 min spin, 1 min right leg, 1 min both legs, 1 min left leg, 1 min spin, 1 min climb, 1 min spin, 1 min right leg, 1 min both, 1 min left leg, 2 min spin). 6km total.

1 x 20 @ 12.5lb – squats and hammer curls

10 min run around the track, varying speed however I felt like (~2km)

I was a sweaty mess after this. Does anyone else sweat like gangbusters on the bike? I’m always dripping and it’s kind of gross, although also awesome.

Today I started off right with some pancakes . . . okay, not really.

But they were definitely worth sharing. I made these from a gluten-free baking mix I bought on accident but I really like it as a healthier alternative that still comes out with similar consistency and taste to classic, white flour pancakes. I made a really lovely sauce out of sauteed apple, pomegranate arils and maple syrup.

Then I half-jogged my way to yoga with 50lbs of baggage through a foot of snow, did a 90 min class, cleaned the studio (as part of my volunteer job), walked 25 min to the bus and came to work. I’m actually really exhausted now, even though it doesn’t seem like much I’m definitely feeling it. I’ve been ravenous all shift and finished my whole lunchbox before 3. I might have to scrounge up something from the dregs of the office fridge in an hour if my stomach doesn’t settle down.

Tomorrow should be pretty fun. I’m going to the gym to run, then meeting up with some friends for some swimming and then I have a family party to go to for my twin cousins’ birthday. The theme is Hollywood and I have no idea what to wear. Any ideas?

You know what?

Fall running is the frickin’ bees knees. This is definitely the perfect weather for me because I just don’t handle heat well. Thankfully the Calgary weather system is actually gracing us with a proper fall this year. My runs lately have been pure bliss.

To be honest the start of the run wasn’t great. My body just felt off, uncomfortable and plain awkward. But I said to my body, “screw you, let’s do this” and pushing through. It got easier, as it usually does, and my pace ended up being way better than I expected. I ran the exact same route as Wednesday and although that run felt easier, I ran it faster today.

Distance: 9 km

Time: 47:10

Pace: 8:26 min/mile

At the end of this run I just ran like a child, flailing arms and all. In other words, I ran without thought or care. I ran without regard for my body or my pace or my form. I ran with pure, unadulterated joy and it was amazing.

I’m telling you, it’s unbelievable how much I’ve come to love running. I never thought I’d be saying that a year ago. I think in the beginning the notion was there that I might one day find it fun but I don’t think I ever knew I could love it this much. As much as biking, or even more because it’s so new. If you don’t think you’re the running type, it’s worth it to try it anyway. I’m not saying you’ll love it but you might and then you’ll thank me

I also put some new songs on my ipod which always makes me happy when they come up. I’ve decided to start doing a ‘Song of the Run‘ series because there’s usually one song during a run that really sticks out to me and makes me run faster or smile or dance. Yes, I am one of those crazy people who dances while they run. Don’t knock it until you try it because it’s maybe the most fun you’ll ever have. Other than bike dancing, which is just as good.

Song Of The Run (okay, I maybe need a better title than that) : September – Earth, Wind & Fire

Okay, maybe I’m just a big hippie at heart, but this song is the happiest thing you can imagine. If it doesn’t make you want to dance than you might want to check on the status of your soul, or maybe you just don’t like dancing, but that’s a whole other problem. The moment this song came on I got the widest smile on my face and it didn’t go away until the run finished. And I definitely danced.

And now on to the food.

Yesterday was a rest day and I was in the cooking mood when I woke up, so I did. First off I made pecan milk to go with my apple cinnamon cereal. Pecan milk is a great alternative to almond milk, with a nice caramel flavour. You just take 1/2 cup soaked pecans, 3 cups water and some vanilla stevia, whirl in the blender, strain if you’d like and you’re good to go. Sorry, no pic, I ate as I cooked. It just looks like almond milk, though, I’m sure you can figure it out

I also finally got around to starting some buckwheat sprouting (sprouted buckwheat is a staple in Thrive and I always seem to do Brendan’s biding).

Kinda pretty, isn’t it? I drained it and rinsed it today and it actually produced a mucousy substance as though it had contracted swine flu over night, but I guess that’s the nutrients growing, eh? I plan to use it to make some of Brendan’s energy bars.

I finally made some eggplant bacon, as well. Gina, aka the Fitnessita, has been mentioning this stuff forever so I actually got Everyday Raw out of the library just so I could try it. But you’ll have to wait until I try it to see a pic. Okay, I did have a taste and it was smoky and delicious.

For dinner (and lunch) I made a lovely salad. I got the inspiration recipe from the cookbook ReFresh, featuring food from the restaurant chain Fresh in Ontario. Next time I go east I definitely want to try this place.

I changed the recipe a bit, based on what I had. Great northern beans in pesto, artichoke hearts, tomato, avocado and pecans on a bed of spinach/arugula. It was a great combination and definitely satisfying.

I also packed up some of Gina’s Chocolate Chia Pudding to eat after yoga volunteering. I didn’t have maca (still looking for it) so mine wasn’t really ‘malted’, but I added a bit of carob instead.

I also topped it with some hazelnut butter and goji berries. I ate this while walking home and it was a fun, delicious snack. Chia pudding always has such an intriguing consistency.

Okay, I was going to share lunch from today but I’ll have to do it later. My battery is about to die and I have to head off because I’m going to a special yoga class tonight with the owner of Moksha Yoga, the studio I volunteer and practice at. I’m pretty excited.